Hot and Fumy
Here’s a place in Turkey I’ve never been, Hierapolis, but now I want to see these amazing hot springs and a gate to the underworld. Attalid kings from Pergamon built the city in the 2nd century BC and then the Romans took it over in 133 BC. By that time, the Bronze Age Hittite empire I write about had long fallen into the dust.
Dog Breath from Hell
Nonetheless, who can resist a city with a temple to Pluto that boasts an entrance to the underworld that spews the poisonous breath of Cerberus? Many travelers in the Roman period describe priests who made offerings to Pluto by bringing sacrificial animals down the steps to this gate. The animal would die instantly. The priest would remount the stairs unhurt. The gate is photographed above (photo by Carole Raddato, Wiki)
What’s Going on Here?
What gives? This mystery caught the attention of a German volcano biologist. I confess I did not realize there are biologists who specialize in volcanoes, but I’m glad to learn. He traveled to this hellish gate, noticed dead birds, mice, and bugs around the entrance and realized there were clearly deadly fumes here. Hierapolis crouches on top of a fault line that allows the upward passage of the waters of the hot springs as well as gasses. A meter showed the quantity of carbon dioxide at 80%. 10% will kill you.
How did the priests get out alive? The sun’s heat burns off the carbon dioxide, thus “cleaning” the air each day. Apparently, the poison gas sinks close to the ground, so the poor ewe or other animal with its nose low quickly dies, but an upright man if he times it right can survive.
Priestly Beliefs in Roman Hierapolis
We don’t know whether the priests believed Pluto’s hand (or breath) killed the sacrifices or not. Romans had a lot of practical scientific knowledge. The caves that served as similar entrances to the underworld in the earlier period of my Hittites didn’t have this poison problem. Rivers, springs, and caves have been identified as pathways to the world below across many Near Eastern and Mediterranean cultures.
Going to Hierapolis for a spa treatment was probably a lot more fun than being an offering to Hades. The white coated stone pools have an otherworldly look of their own. I don’t have to work hard to imagine Aphrodite and a bevy of nymphs lounging in these crystal blue pools.
Click here to read the BBC Travel article, Turkey’s mysterious ‘portal to the underworld’
Here for a fictional “visit” to a Hittite cave that served as a portal to the underworld.